Wisconsin Elections Administrator Participates in Federal Review of November Election

MADISON, WI – Nathaniel E. Robinson, Elections Division administrator for the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, has been invited to participate in an election review roundtable discussion at the December 2 meeting of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (US-EAC) in Washington, D.C.

The roundtable discussion, hosted by US-EAC, will focus on experiences in the November 2, 2010 General Election. Robinson will be joined on the panel by state and local election officials from California, Delaware and Maryland, representatives of voting equipment manufacturers, and by the US-EAC Commissioners

“I am very proud to represent Wisconsin,” said Robinson. “Our state witnessed great political change in this election, yet there was virtually no controversy about the electoral process. Recounts in three Legislative races confirmed those results with very little change. I look forward to sharing Wisconsin’s experiences in conducting another successful election.”

The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board has a strong history of collaboration with the US-EAC, a bipartisan Federal agency created by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 to distribute election aid to states for improving election administration. Robinson serves as Wisconsin’s state representative to the US-EAC Standards Board.

Last year, the agency’s then-Chair Gineen Beach visited Wisconsin and the G.A.B. for two days, and US-EAC accepted Wisconsin’s Legislatively-approved 2009-2014 Election Administration Plan, qualifying the state for an additional $3.9 million in HAVA funds. Also last year, Wisconsin was the first state to submit its H1N1 Flu Contingency Plan to the US-EAC.

Kevin J. Kennedy, director and general counsel of the Board, said the G.A.B. (and its predecessor the State Elections Board) has received $50 million in HAVA funds since 2004.

“We have an excellent working relationship with the US-EAC,” said Kennedy, noting that the agency also received a $2 million, competitively-awarded grant for Election Data Collection Improvement in 2008, which is managed by the US-EAC.